Saturday, December 24, 2011

We spent the afternoon wrapping gifts at the Barnes and Noble store in Plano, like we usually do on Christmas Eve. For the past several years, we've been bringing Dot and Dash with us to these events and I'm always amazed at how well behaved they are. I think the dogs are actually better in public than they are at home. They're both good little ambassadors for Dalmatian Rescue. We always do better with donations when the dogs are with us.

It's funny how much you can tell about the economy and the general state of the nation by watching people shop on Christmas Eve. People aren't buying as much as they were four or five years ago, and they certainly aren't buying as many books. We wrapped almost as many Nook eReaders today as we did books.

There were definitely fewer people in the store this year than last year. The real surprise was the absence of last minute male shoppers. Usually over two thirds of the people who come to our gift wrapping counter are men who've put off their Christmas shopping to the last possible minute. They were gone this year. I don't think all these men suddenly decided to get their shopping done early. I just think they aren't buying books anymore. I don't know what these procrastinators are shopping for these days though. Your guess is as good as mine.

I woke up this morning fulling intending to get a little work done today as well. That certainly never happened. After the time we spent getting Dot and Dash ready for their package wrapping duties and the additional time we spent at the Barnes and Noble store, the day was pretty much gone. We all had a nice dinner when we got home and the dogs are already nestled all snug in their beds. I'm not sure if visions of sugar-plums are dancing through their heads, but they do seem to be dreaming about something.

About Me

John Sealander received a Bachelor of Architecture and a BA in Art from
The University of Arkansas. His rich and diverse experience includes
working as an architectural designer for Fred Bassetti in Seattle,
producing documentary films for PBS, shooting commercial photography
for True Redd’s “Great Shooting Gallery” in Dallas and teaching writing
courses at SMU’s Academy of Visual Communication. For over 35 years,
John has developed memorable and award winning ads and images for some
of the world’s leading ad agencies and most popular brands. In 1990 he
started Sealander & Company, the Dallas, Texas based production
company and multi-media agency where he continues to develop his ideas
today.